Evaluate My Ties to Boston Forum

[Anonymous User]

GW Law. Never been to Boston. Applied to BU for transfer in undergrad. Was accepted but didn't go (financial and other reasons).

I'm planning on blanketing Boston at OCI (with the firms that have Boston offices obviously) and also planning on staging a large direct write campaign.

The only ties to Boston that I have are that one of my former roommates currently lives in Boston and several of my GW friends are from Boston.

When I address the "Why Boston?" question what approach should I take (please note these are all just thematic approaches that I could adopt, not what I actually intend to say)?

1) "I have a number of really close friends that live in Boston. They're always telling me how awesome it is and I'm excited to move to the city and get acquainted with it through their intimate expertise. I went to visit them this past summer and we got to see Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs! It was awesome!"

2) "I don't know how to explain it. I've always wanted to live in Boston. I applied for transfer admission in UG but money and [other reason] kept me from being able to go. Ever since I've been waiting the opportunity to move to the city and correct my missed opportunity. I'm also a huge Bruins fan!"

3) "My [fictional] boyfriend of [3 years] is from Boston. He's got a great place in [neighborhood] that's super convenient for the commute to [firm]. We're both huge hockey fans and we're super excited to have the Stanley Cup in Boston - can't wait to keep it there next season!"

4) "Boston Legal's one of my favorite TV shows. Alan Shore is my hero. Go Bruins."

Also, is this the sort of "tie" you include in a cover letter or do you save this information for the interview?

[Anonymous User]

Just curious - Why not consider transferring from GW to BU/BC if you are so set on Beantown? I'm not certain if the deadlines have passed just yet.

[thesealocust]

17.3 boston points by the V25 scale, but only 14.2 if you use NLJ. Some might quibble over your point 2, but I'd say you still top out at an 18/15 even if you are more generous when applying the scale.

[Anonymous User]

17.3 boston points by the V25 scale, but only 14.2 if you use NLJ. Some might quibble over your point 2, but I'd say you still top out at an 18/15 even if you are more generous when applying the scale.

OP here.

I think you're being sarcastic. But if so, it's either so well done that I'm not sure or I'm so intent on reading a real answer out of it that I'm inferring things that you didn't mean to be inferred.

Care to clarify that for me? And/or suggest which of the proffered approaches is best?

[thesealocust]

Well, the V25 scale matters a lot more if you're applying to big firms. But if your application strategy will involve a lot of massmailing and firms outside of the usual suspects you need to keep both in mind. The problem is that tie points are like GPA, you know the more you have the better, but you can't really quote specific required minimums or anything like that. And career services offices guard that data even more closely than they do firm GPA medians, because otherwise they would hurt their ability to recruit people from across the country if it got out that their students were pigeonholed to certain regions based on tie points prior to entering LS.

[Cupidity]

When you walk in, and they ask how you are doing, say, "I left with time to spare and barely made it here, gotta love that Green Line." They'll just assume you are a native and will never bother to think otherwise.

[Cupidity]

4) "Boston Legal's one of my favorite TV shows. Alan Shore is my hero. Go Bruins."

cooley llp is in that building.

[Anonymous User]

OP again.

I'm about to make myself look like a total tool. Are you ready for it? Here it comes......

Are there really such things as "tie points"?

Also, the reason I hadn't considered transferring is that while Boston is one of my preferred markets, it's not the only market I'll be applying to. I'm also looking in NYC and, to a lesser extent, DC. I'd be happy with any of them but Boston is my the one I have in my crosshairs.

[thesealocust]

Yep. It's all internal, I'm working at a firm now so I just popped open our proprietary software to give you an estimate. Most career services offices have subscriptions to services that will do the same thing. It'll never be the same score an individual firm gives, because it's like credit scores where everyone does the math slightly differently, but at least it will give you an idea of where you stand.

[Anonymous User]

Yep. It's all internal, I'm working at a firm now so I just popped open our proprietary software to give you an estimate. Most career services offices have subscriptions to services that will do the same thing. It'll never be the same score an individual firm gives, because it's like credit scores where everyone does the math slightly differently, but at least it will give you an idea of where you stand.

OP again.

Well, I finally got there.

[Cupidity]

Yep. It's all internal, I'm working at a firm now so I just popped open our proprietary software to give you an estimate. Most career services offices have subscriptions to services that will do the same thing. It'll never be the same score an individual firm gives, because it's like credit scores where everyone does the math slightly differently, but at least it will give you an idea of where you stand.

OP again.

Well, I finally got there.

Took you long enough.

Your ties to Boston are weak. So you are really going to have to sell it. You aren't gay, are you? That is a serious boost to credibility if you can swing it.

[Anonymous User]

Your ties to Boston are weak. So you are really going to have to sell it. You aren't gay, are you? That is a serious boost to credibility if you can swing it.

I am gay - that's one of the reasons Boston is so appealing to me. It's like a gay Mecca!

[chinny123]

Just "tawk" like you just got off the T at "Pawk" and try not to be a "toonie".

[concurrent fork]

Never been to Boston.

How do you know you want to live there?

[timbs4339]

GW Law. Never been to Boston. Applied to BU for transfer in undergrad. Was accepted but didn't go (financial and other reasons).

I'm planning on blanketing Boston at OCI (with the firms that have Boston offices obviously) and also planning on staging a large direct write campaign.

The only ties to Boston that I have are that one of my former roommates currently lives in Boston and several of my GW friends are from Boston.

When I address the "Why Boston?" question what approach should I take (please note these are all just thematic approaches that I could adopt, not what I actually intend to say)?

1) "I have a number of really close friends that live in Boston. They're always telling me how awesome it is and I'm excited to move to the city and get acquainted with it through their intimate expertise. I went to visit them this past summer and we got to see Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs! It was awesome!"

2) "I don't know how to explain it. I've always wanted to live in Boston. I applied for transfer admission in UG but money and [other reason] kept me from being able to go. Ever since I've been waiting the opportunity to move to the city and correct my missed opportunity. I'm also a huge Bruins fan!"

3) "My [fictional] boyfriend of [3 years] is from Boston. He's got a great place in [neighborhood] that's super convenient for the commute to [firm]. We're both huge hockey fans and we're super excited to have the Stanley Cup in Boston - can't wait to keep it there next season!"

4) "Boston Legal's one of my favorite TV shows. Alan Shore is my hero. Go Bruins."

Also, is this the sort of "tie" you include in a cover letter or do you save this information for the interview?

The ties to Boston don't have to be particularly strong (for example grew-up-there won't trump went-to-college-there if went-to-college-there guy has better grades) but they still have to be there. It's like Texas. I'd think about using more bids on New York and maybe only bidding the Boston firms with the largest classes.

[Anonymous User]

How do you know you want to live there?

I can't explain it. I suppose I could get there and hate it. But I don't think that will happen. I can live pretty much anywhere and be happy. I also love exploring new places. That's the only real justification I have for wanting to move to Boston so fervently.

[D.Wilde]

Your ties to Boston are weak. So you are really going to have to sell it. You aren't gay, are you? That is a serious boost to credibility if you can swing it.

I am gay - that's one of the reasons Boston is so appealing to me. It's like a gay Mecca!

This is good. Boston is an extremely LGBTQ-friendly/supportive city, and MA is still the frontrunner for LGBTQ rights in many ways. This is a good thing to emphasize, and citing Goodridge couldn't hurt either.

Another good reason MA lawyers seemed to like hearing during my interviews was that "Boston seems to have a lot of the energy and vigor and creativity of New York, with significantly less complete insanity." Boston big-firm lawyers tend to work here because the work is compelling (especially if you're at all interested in Private Equity, Healthcare, or Emerging Companies), but it's a significantly more laid back city than New York, and it's way easier to settle down and start a family.

If you really are a sports fan, it might not hurt to mention that either. One of the distinguishing traits of Boston compared to many other major cities is the atmosphere of absolute, die-hard support for local teams.